The present invention relates to a garment to be worn on a person's upper torso, such as a coat, jacket, sweater, shirt, blouse, sweatshirt, or vest, and more particularly to such a garment that has an inner liner in which a small pet can be carried.
While larger dogs typically accompany their owners on a leash, small pets, such as miniature dog breeds, cats, and ferrets, are often carried by their owners. But carrying a small pet in one's arms presents several disadvantages. One or both hands may be occupied in holding and controlling the pet, making it awkward to write, open doors, pick up objects, etc. If this mode of carrying a small pet is uncomfortable for the owner, it is even more uncomfortable and distressing for the pet. A small pet is vulnerable and lacks security when carried exposed in the arms of its owner. Passing strangers, other animals, sudden sounds and lights are apt to upset the pet or even induce panic.
The problems of carrying a small pet are similar in many ways to the problems of carrying an infant or small child. A variety of harnesses, slings and papoose-type carriers have been used for hands-free transport of infants, but these carriers are typically designed to accommodate a seated human torso, with openings to accommodate the legs. Such harness-type carriers use a pouch secured to the parent's torso by multiple straps that extend over the shoulders and around the back and waist. An example of such a harness-type baby carrier is disclosed in Kula et al., Des. 266,800.
Attempts have been made to adapt the harness-type carrier for transport of a pet. One such pet carrier is taught by Tracy, U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,102. In Tracy, the leg openings at the bottom of the baby pouch are replaced by a rigid platform on which the pet can sit. A zipper down the front of the pouch allows access to insert and remove the pet from the pouch enclosure. A drawstring or elastic gather at the top of the pouch is used to confine the pet in the enclosure.
The application of harness-type carriers to pet transport is, however, problematic in several respects. The pouch enclosure separates a small pet from the security of physical contact with it owner and leaves the pet exposed to threatening exterior interactions. In order to be effective in confining the pet, the pouch must severely restrict the pet's mobility. Drawstrings or elastic used to constrict the top of the pouch will cause discomfort to the pet and may even cause choking if the pet is struggling to escape from the enclosure. As for the owner, the harness is awkward to put on and take off, and the weight-bearing straps exert pressure and create fatigue in the shoulders and back. Furthermore, the appearance of the harness-type carrier is quite unattractive, and not much can be done to dress it up.
The foregoing drawbacks can be overcome by abandoning the harness-type carrier in favor of a pet carrier that is an integral part of a garment worn by the owner on his or her upper torso. Again, the analogous field of baby carriers provides us with some teachings of carriers that are integrated with a garment. Examples are Baldwin, U.S. Pat. No. 4,079,467, Tkacsik, U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,078, Shatzkin et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,946,725, and Leach, U.S. Pat. No. 6,343,727.
In Baldwin's invention, the baby is carried inside the parent's coat. The infant's lower torso is supported in a seated position in an expandable inner pocket of the coat by a carrying sling which goes over the shoulder of the wearer. The carrying sling is needed because the bottom of the coat is open and the child would otherwise be liable to fall out. Therefore, the Baldwin design still retains some of the disadvantages of the harness-type carriers, insofar as the sling restricts the infant's mobility and involves the pressure of a weight-bearing strap on the parent's shoulder. The Baldwin carrier does, however, represent a step in the right direction, insofar as it allows close physical contact of the baby with the parent, which is an important aspect of the child's security, warmth and comfort.
The Tkacsik patent teaches a large maternity coat within which an infant is supported by a separate shoulder-harnessed baby carrier. As in the Baldwin patent, the carrier is not fully integrated with the garment, but still requires the use of a harness-type apparatus to support the weight of the child. Therefore, lack of mobility for the infant and discomfort for the parent continue as drawbacks of this design. But, as with Baldwin, the creation of an infant enclosure within the parent's garment provides the security and warmth of physical contact between parent and child.
The Shatzkin patent represents a further step toward integration of the infant enclosure with the parent's garment. Here, the infant is supported in a seated posture by a pouch attached to the inside of the garment. The bottom of the pouch has an inverted trapezoidal configuration, wherein the baby's legs are inserted through the oblique sides of the trapezoid. Hence, while the lower torso of the infant is secured by the pouch, the child's upper torso retains some freedom of movement. While this design provides a measure of mobility for the child as well as maintaining physical contact between parent and child, its pouch configuration is specific to human anatomy and is not readily adaptable to a pet carrier. In order to confine a pet, such a pouch would have to enclose the pet's entire body below the neck, thereby again engendering the problem of unduly restricted mobility for the pet.
In the Leach baby carrier, the reclining infant is supported from below by a draw-string closure at the bottom of the garment. The infant enclosure is more capacious than that of Shatzkin and could accommodate an animal as well as a human. But the carrier garment is a specialized vest rather than an integral part of a general-purpose garment, and it is designed to be worn on the outside of the parent's regular garments, thus diminishing the level of physical contact between parent and child and exposing the child to the elements of the outside environment.
Following the lead of the infant-carrying garments, the prior art contains two teachings of pet-carrying garments: Fugazzi, Pub. No. US2006/0005294, and Samet, U.S. Pat. No. 7,296,303.
Fugazzi teaches a pet-carrying sweatshirt, in which a pouch is formed on the outside front of a sweatshirt by sewing on a cloth panel. Since the pet is not securely confined in this pouch, however, supplemental strap restraints must be used, thereby limiting the pet's mobility. Also, because the pouch is on the outside of the garment, this design does not afford the pet with the warmth, comfort and security of an interior enclosure in close proximity to the owner's body.
Samet teaches a pet-carrying pouch attached to the outside of a garment with a confining drawstring at the top of the pouch. This design has the disadvantages of overly restricting the pet's movement, as well as potentially choking the pet with the drawstring around its neck. Also, as with Fugazzi, the pouch separates and isolates the pet from the security and comfort of physical contact with the owner.
Therefore, the prior art offers no teachings—either in the field of pet carriers or in the field of baby carriers adaptable to pet use—that meet all of the optimal criteria of a pet-carrying garment, those being:                A design in which the carrier is an integral part of a general-purpose garment;        A roomy pet enclosure which allows freedom of movement for the pet;        A configuration that affords close physical contact between the pet and its owner; and        A strapless design in which the pet's weight is not supported by the owner's shoulders.        
All of these criteria are fulfilled by the pet carrier garment of the present invention. It features within the front of the garment a full frontal liner which is open at the neck and extends vertically from the shoulders to the waist of the garment and laterally from the left-side seam to the right-side seam of the garment. This design creates a roomy pet enclosure between the front interior of the garment and the full frontal liner. At the waist of the garment is a draw-string that can be tightened to secure the bottom of the pet enclosure. The full frontal liner is made of a thin fabric or a mesh that permits body heat to pass between pet and owners and provides the pet with the security of intimate contact with the owner. A zipper or series of fasteners in the front of the garment can be used to open or close the front of the garment to varying degrees, thereby adjusting the level of exposure and interaction between the pet and the outside surroundings.